Charity books often have their hearts in the right place, but the words and pictures are all over the shop. A good idea is wasted because insufficient effort goes into its execution. This picture book is different. It is not just a nifty idea - it is also creative, and has exceptionally high production values. That probably explains the hefty price tag, but then it is in aid of a good cause: all royalties go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which turns the wishes of children who are living with life-threatening illnesses into a reality.

Here is a terrific list of well-known writers and illustrators, including Ian Beck, Nick Butterworth, Mick Inkpen, Helen Oxenbury, Korky Paul, Tony Ross and Nick Sharratt. Each has come up with a page on which they express a wish. Hence, Sharratt's spread is of a lumpy red cat, which makes you want to be a puss; Candice Whatmore meditates on the joys of chocolate; and Ian Beck's page makes you wish you could fly. Some contributions are funny, some whimsical, some wistful - and all are exquisitely illustrated.

You might think that, with so many authors involved, the results would be something of a mish-mash. This could not be further from the truth. Make a Wish is a rich patchwork full of unexpected hues and different patterns and moods. A worthwhile book for a worthwhile cause.

Ages 0-3

Pink Lemonby Hervé Tullet (Milet, £8.99)

On the first page is a large rosy lemon and the words "Pink Lemon" followed by a question mark. Down the side of the right-hand page are three blocks of colour - blue, yellow and purple - allowing the child to match the right colour to the lemon.

This is much more than just a colour-matching book, raising all sorts of possibilities of jokey philosophical interaction between parent and child as they can spend many happy hours considering whether you can eat red chocolate, see a pink moon or swim in a yellow sea.

Babiesby Ros Asquith, illustrated by Sam Williams (Macmillan, £9.99)

This is a celebration of all babies in general and one baby in particular - the one you are reading it to. Written in Asquith's disgracefully jaunty verse - "There are big babies and little babies/Do-lots and do-little babies" - it's not going cause Andrew Motion any sleepless nights. But then, his collections lack the irresistible charm of Sam Williams's illustrations. If this alone doesn't make you rush out and buy it, it comes equipped with a secret weapon - a mirror on the final page that allows baby to admire him- or herself.

The saccharine ending aside, this is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of moonshine. The five-year-old I tried it on had no objections at all and loved the charming illustrations.

The World Came to My Place Todayby Jo Redman, illustrated by Ley Honor Roberts (Eden Project, £10.99)

Not a novel, but a wonderfully imaginative book which shows children how their everyday environment connects with the wider world. When George's little sister gets chickenpox, he can't go out to play and wishes that the world could visit him. Grandpa points out that it already has, showing George the rice in his cereal that hails from China, the oranges in his juice that came from Spain, and the newspaper that is made out of Canadian trees.

Mingling its narrative with an entertaining geography lesson, this is part activity book and part storybook. The appealing drawings are cleverly mixed, collage-style, with photographs. An original, enjoyable book that performs the conjuring trick of making the world seem at once bigger and smaller than it really is.

Ages 8-11

You Have Ghost Mail by Terence Blacker, illustrated by Adam Stower (Macmillan, £9.99)

So Macmillan's Shock Shop range is a bit of a find - a series of really thrilling stories, spookily presented and written by top-class authors. Here, Terence Blacker, whose Ms Whizz series will be familiar to many children, has come up with a cunning and creepy story about Matthew, whose new computer appears to be possessed by a dead boy called Giles. Gripping stuff.

These stories are a great introduction to Aiken's work. For many children, it would be a short hop to her brilliant The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. The large type is a bonus, as are Amanda Harvey's illustrations, which capture the strange otherness of the stories .

Ages 12+

Viaduct Childby Patrick Wood (Scholastic, £12.99)

This supremely confident first novel creates an all too believable future world of iron-gloved state control. And Wood doesn't cop out with any patronising "happy ever afters".

Malkaby Mirjam Pressler (Picador, £9.99)

Hannah sets off with her daughters towards the border. Then Malka falls sick and, faced with a kind of Sophie's Choice, Hannah takes the one chance offered to get herself and Minna to safety on the understanding that Malka will join them later. Instead, Malka ends up in a Jewish ghetto.

Based on a true story, this is a powerful tale which explores not only the Holocaust, but also the complexities of motherhood and the reflexes that make us battle to survive.

· To order any of the featured books, call 0870 066 7979 or post a UK cheque payable to 'Guardian Book Service' to Guardian Book Service (Off the Shelf ), PO Box 582, Norwich, NR1 1WN. All prices include UK p&p.